Ahmedabad: Ahmedabad’s historic Walled City could soon see a sweeping curb on large-scale commercial and institutional development, with the Gujarat govt proposing to bar a wide range of new constructions in the Unesco World Heritage precinct to preserve its character.The state urban development and urban housing department has issued a draft notification proposing amendments to the Comprehensive General Development Control Regulations (CGDCR), inviting public objections and suggestions until Oct 3. The changes, notified on July 28, introduce, for the first time, an explicit list of non-permissible constructions for different zones across the state.The proposed restrictions for the Walled City are among the most extensive. If approved, new wholesale markets, industries, cinemas and multiplexes, colleges and polytechnics, convention centres, exhibition halls, auditoriums, stadiums, museums, community halls, clubs and golf courses will no longer be permitted in the heritage core.
Draft Rules Bar Industries, Wholesale Markets, Hospitals, And Affordable Housing in Ahmedabad Old City heritage zone
The draft regulations also prohibit new slaughterhouses, meat and leather processing units, cold storages, oxygen plants, agro and packaging industries, engineering units, fly-ash industries, fuel storage facilities, gas and thermal power plants, chemical industries, warehouses and godowns.Healthcare facilities too face restrictions. Civil hospitals, medical colleges, research centres, hospitals with more than 20 beds, infectious disease hospitals and mental hospitals are proposed to be barred from the Walled City.In a significant shift, affordable housing schemes will also no longer be permitted in the area. According to senior officials, the move affects several closed textile mill lands that were earlier eligible for residential affordable housing under Ahmedabad’s 2014 General Development Control Regulations (GDCR), a provision that continued under the statewide CGDCR introduced in 2017.A senior urban development department official said the amendment marks a fundamental change in the planning framework. “Earlier, the regulations specified what types of construction were permissible in each zone. The amended CGDCR instead provides a clear list of prohibited uses, making it easier to determine what cannot be approved. Any use not included in the prohibited list will generally remain permissible,” the official said.The revised regulations also introduce specific provisions for paying guest accommodations, hostels and pre-schools after these uses became contentious issues in Ahmedabad in recent years.The proposed restrictions come nearly a decade after Ahmedabad became India’s first Unesco World Heritage City in 2017. Since then, commercial activity has steadily expanded within the old city, with wholesale markets, warehouses and other large establishments operating in several pockets.Officials said the amendments are aimed at preventing further development of commercial establishments that could undermine the heritage character of the area. Once the revised CGDCR comes into force, redevelopment of existing properties under prohibited categories will also not be allowed for the same use, effectively preventing the return of activities such as wholesale markets and large industrial or institutional establishments within the Walled City.Citizens can submit objections and suggestions on the proposed amendments until Oct 3, after which the state govt will take a final call on the revised regulations.
